The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Santo Domingo

Tropical Storm Olga, a rare December cyclone, left at least 14 people dead in the Caribbean as pounding rains triggered major floods and landslides, authorities said Wednesday.

In the Dominican Republic, at least 11 people were killed in the northern city of Santiago by the flooding and the release of water from the Tavera dam, which swept down the Yaque del Norte river valley, the country's Emergency Operations Center said.

Some 2,000 people were evacuated from the area as a precautionary measure, said center director Juan Manuel Mendez.

In Santiago province, rescuers found people clinging to trees or perched on their rooftops as floodwaters rose, cutting off dozens of communities from the rest of the country, said Governor Jose Izquierdo.

Dominican President Leonel Fernandez said he was heading to Santiago to visit the stricken areas. Some 34,500 people were evacuated across the Dominican Republic because of the floods and an estimated 5,000 homes were affected, many of them completely destroyed, officials said, as the storm started fizzling out late Wednesday.